Hwang Shinwei (Chinese: 黃信維; pinyin: Huángxìnwéi) is a Taiwanese game programmer. From 1988 to 1991, he developed NES video games without a license from Nintendo, mostly published by RCM Co., Ltd. (also known as RCM Group or simply RCM, standing for RamCo Man International (Chinese: 劍虹國際有限公司)).[1] His titles are both originals and popular clones, some of which originally not converted for the console (such as Rally-X). They appeared all on different multicarts but, others like Brush Roller and Magic Jewelry, were released also on standalone cartridge format, however, those games usually does removed copyright information when in pirate NES/Famicom multicarts, even some single release cartridges.[2] Shinwei retired from NES game development around 1991, coinciding with a Nintendo lawsuit against several Taiwanese companies (including RCM) for their counterfeiting activities.[3]
Hwang Shinwei | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Game programmer |
| Years active | 1988–1991 |
| Known for | Magic Jewelry |
List of Hwang Shinwei games
editClone titles
edit| No. | Title | Release year(s) |
Original publisher(s) |
Clone of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mí Hún Chē | 1988 | Chi Chi Toy Co. | Rally-X | Also known as Ecstasy Car. Also credited as The Latest Strong Card: Ecstasy Car (Zuìxīn Qiáng Kǎ - Mí Hún Chē) on the cartridge. |
| 2 | 3D Block | 1989/1990 | Jujing Electronics (1989) RCM Group (1990) |
Blockout | Credited as Three-Dimensional Tetris (Lìtǐ Èluósī Fāngkuài) on the cartridge. |
| 3 | Block Force | 1990 | Jujing Electronics RCM Group |
Block Hole | Credited as Square Force on the cartridge. Originally programmed by Hwang Jiun-Ming, Shinwei in this game is credited as "layout and music". |
| 4 | Brush Roller | Various publishers | Crush Roller | Its hack version was developed by NTDEC as Bookyman in 1991, and later included in their 1992 multicart Caltron 6 in 1. | |
| 5 | F18 Race | RCM Group | Grand Prix | Also known as X1 Race. | |
| 6 | Frog River | Frogger | |||
| 7 | Magic Jewelry | Columns | Also credited as Magic Gems (Mófǎ Bǎoshí) on the cartridge. | ||
| 8 | BB Car | 1991 | RCM Group JY Company |
Rally-X | Credited as Super Car on the cartridge. A new version of the original 1988 game Mí Hún Chē. |
| 9 | Boat Race[4] | Self-published | |||
| 10 | Magic Jewelry II | RCM Group | Columns' | Also credited as Gemstone Second Generation (Bǎoshí Fāngkuài Èr Dài) on the cartridge. The only sequel to Magic Jewelry. | |
| 11 | Wild Ball | Emi-chan no Moero Yakyūken! | Credited as Magic Giral on the cartridge, and Baseball Boxing (Yěqiú Quán) in the game, the latter a literal translation of the Japanese term. | ||
| 12 | Face Tetris[5][6] | Unknown | Unknown | Faces |
Original titles
edit| No. | Title | Release year | Original publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guess Numbers[5][6] | 1990 | RCM Group | Both these Puzzle games use graphics taken from Adventure Island. |
| 2 | Picture Collect[5][6] | |||
| 3 | Punch Sprite | Self-published | Also known as Punch Pipe. A Whack-a-mole game with graphics taken from Super Mario Bros.. | |
| 4 | Soha Poker[5][6] | Unknown | A Poker-based game. | |
| 5 | Sky Shot[5][6] | RCM Group | ||
| 6 | 2 Turn Pair | 1991 | A Shisen-Sho-based game. | |
| 7 | Memory Pair | A Concentration solitaire game. | ||
| 8 | China Chess | Unknown | Unknown | A Banqi-based game. |
| 9 | Black Jack[5][6] | Based on the homonym card game. | ||
| 10 | Magic Sound[5][6] | |||
| 11 | Piano | A Piano simulator game. |
Multi-game cartridges
edit| No. | Title | Original publisher |
Release year |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tetris Family: 6-in-1[7] | RCM Group | 1991 | 1) Credited as Block Family on title screen. 2) Contains: Tetris, Tetris, 3D Block, Flipull, Magic Jewelry, and Block Force. |
| 2 | Tetris Family: 9-in-1 | RCM Group | 1991 | 1) Credited as Tetris Series: Super 9 in One on title screen. 2) Contains: Tetris (BPS/Nintendo), Tetris (Atari), 3D Block, Flipull, Block Force, Magic Jewelry, Wild Ball, 2 Turn Pair, and Memory Pair. |
| 3 | Tetris Family: 12-in-1 | RCM Group | 1991 | |
| 4 | 12-in-1 Hwang Shinwei | Unknown | Unknown | Contains: Magic Jewelry, Tengen Tetris (credited as Tetris II), Chinese Chess, Dr. Mario, Taiwan Mahjong 16 (credited as Taiwan Mahjon), Gomoku Narabe Renju (credited as Five Chess), Block Force, Hayauchi Super Igo (credited as Chess), Arkanoid (credited as Super Arkanoid), Flipull, Super Mario Bros. (credited as Super Mario II), and Tank 1990. |
References
edit- ^ "Magic Jewelry II - The Cutting Room Floor". tcrf.net.
- ^ "Hwang Shinwei Company Information - GameFAQs". www.gamefaqs.com.
- ^ "Seven arrested in Nintendo counterfeiting". UPI.com. 1991-06-10. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
- ^ Retro Roms: Rom Hack - Boat Race
- ^ a b c d e f g "New Hwang Shinwei games discovered". s4.zetaboards.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g "CaH4e3 page". cah4e3.shedevr.org.ru.
- ^ "the all inclusive 8 and 16 bit bootleg, hack, pirate, chinese-original-game-thread". Archived from the original on 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2016-03-05.